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Friday, January 20, 2017

Combatting water scarcity is an economic decision, not a technological problem - IFAD to tell agriculture ministers

Rome, 20 January 2017 – While
technologies may exist to ensure poor, developing-world farmers can
access the water they need to grow enough food for their communities and
countries, governments need to invest in them, said Perin Saint Ange,
the Associate Vice-President of the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) en route to the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture
(GFFA) in Berlin, Germany.

Saint Ange is participating
in an expert panel at the GFFA – an international conference focused on
the global agri-food industry – and will provide recommendations to
government ministers on how to harmonise agriculture and water policies
to meet the needs of rural small-scale farmers.

“Any attempts to address
water management must be environmentally, economically and socially
sustainable so that we ensure long-term food security,” said Saint Ange.

Approximately 80 per cent of
farmers rely on rain water for their agriculture, particularly in rural
areas of developing countries. With rainfall becoming increasingly less
predictable due to climate change, these farmers are particularly
vulnerable.

“We know what technology is
needed to address this. We know that water needs to be managed and
governed. But this takes political will and economic investment,” said
Saint Ange.

The World Economic Forum
ranks water scarcity as one of the greatest long-term risks facing
humanity and agriculture is a particularly thirsty business, with
irrigation alone accounting for up to 70 per cent of freshwater
withdrawals.

The GFFA precedes the meeting of the G20 agriculture ministers where water is also a key theme.